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Tafadzwa Zimoyo, Entertainment Editor
Maurice Peterson is sloshed to the marrow after a binge of beer and drugs.
He staggers home, driven only by the ancient rhythm of life to sleep under a roof.
At home his wife Thandiwe Sibanda and toddler son, await his arrival. But, as was the norm, the moment Peterson enters the house, it becomes a war zone.
Shouting, swearing, kicking, shoving, kneeing and all other forms of violence engulf the home. Fight. Fight, fight. Fight!
And, as fate would have it, the toddler crawled into the violent fight and Peterson, accidentally knocks the child down, resulting in its death, a few moments later, on their way to hospital.
Throughout the whole scuffle, Peterson was intoxicated and it only dawned to him that he had killed his son, after his arrest.
Dear reader, this is not a script for an African movie. It is real and it happened in Bulawayo’s Queens Park.
Maurice Peterson’s life took a drastic turn on October 25, 2011, when he was sentenced to death for the tragic death of his one-and-a-half-year-old son.
The incident occurred during a domestic dispute and Peterson was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.
As the reality of his prison sentence sunk in, he wept uncontrollably, overcome by grief and despair.
The thought of losing precious years with his three children, wife and friends was gruelling, unbearable and inconceivable.
The murder happened in 2007 while he was on his way from a beer binge with his friends from Queens Park East in Bulawayo.
During that fateful night, Peterson had a misunderstanding with his wife Thandiwe Sibanda and along the way, their crawling baby was caught in cross-fire.
Like they say, when two elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.
The baby sustained injuries from their fight and was pronounced dead on their way to Mpilo Group of Hospitals in Bulawayo.
This then terrified the parents.
Peterson was arrested and went to court back and forth as the investigation process continued.
He was found guilty after four years and handed the death penalty.
Waiting for death, as a condemned man he was sent to Khami Remand Prison in Bulawayo.
As he waited for the noose, he was thrown a lifeline when his death sentence was committed to 30 years in jail. Well, this is still a lifetime but with a silver lining.
He was then transferred to Khami Maximum Security Prison.
“The day I received the death penalty, I became sober. I was a drunkard and drug addict, you can name any drug you want to think of from cocaine to marijuana, that was my daily bread. I started doing drugs while in school,” he said.
“I was a violent person. I fought with my wife, you know how drunkards behave. After my son was injured and later died, it did not hit me. I became sober when I was arrested and facing murder charges. I knew it was by mistake but the damage had already been done and I was ready to face the consequences.
“I was put in the D-section (a section for those convicted of murder). Reality struck me that I was alone in this mess. I found solace in writing music. I was an artiste and I used to perform in clubs before going to prison.”
Peterson said he recorded a music album while in prison entitled “God Saved My Life” in 2017.
“I became serious with music in 2013. I had a collaboration while in prison with Jeys Marabini on the soundtrack of the drama, ‘Crime and Strings’. I starred as one of the lead actors in the drama. It was inspired by my story and in this play, I was sent to prison because I had picked up a cell phone from the murder scene,” he said.
Peter said his passion for music grew some more while in prison.
“I have written more than 70 songs and I want to meet Jah Prayzah or Winky D. My role model is the late Dr Tuku.(Oliver Mtukudzi)”
Peterson said he was rewarded for exhibiting good behaviour with ranks and badges, resulting in him assisting other inmates on behaviour.
“I was given the yellow staging in 2014, then in 2017 I graduated to the blue stage with 2020 on the red stage. I was now allowed to sing in public, I had turned my life to Christ. Musically I was now assisted by Clarence Gururu. Prison life is hard but it is expected because it is not home and is about corrections. I also started reading and I am happy we were allowed to pursue our dreams be it music, sculpture, education or dancing. Like I said before, in the first weeks, I thought my world had ended.”
The father of three (Dumo aged 24, Alisha (16), and Aaliayah now 14), said his wife remained loyal and faithful.
“I thought since I was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years, she was going to remarry or move on, but she was always visiting me and I was very shy at first because of my deeds but later accepted her visits.
“Through her, I am one of the persons who understand and know what true love is,” he said.
Peterson remained strong, with hope but what bothered him were stories that things were changing while he was in prison.
He wished he could be released and afforded the stage to share some of his songs with the world.
As months and days went by, in May this year, he got a second chance, in the form of an amnesty.
He was listed on the Presidential pardon list and when he received the news, he cried uncontrollably.
“It was tears of joy at the same time, I asked myself how am I going to face the world?”
His wife and Bishop Cthuma came to pick him up.
“I was shocked that my wife and bishop would pick me up, I thought I was going to continue with my lonely journey. I went home and the first people I hugged were my three children. Everything was intact the way I left it, my clothes and gadgets.
“I thought they would be afraid of me but we hugged and cried. They cooked nice food and started competing to tell me stories that I had missed,” he said.
Peterson said although he was free, music remained in his mind.
“I was happy to be out, but had challenges on how to pursue my music and finding a path. I later learnt of the StarBrite Talent Show in Harare. I remember watching that on national television. I then boarded a bus to Harare for auditions,” he said.
“I was accepted and waited with other competitors. I was nervous because this was my first time outside prison, with ‘free’ crowd, mixing and mingling. I didn’t want to share my prison story with other members because of fear of discrimination.
“I gave it my all and soon after the competitors went for interviews. I remember while in prison, one of the prison officers who used to hear me sing, said ‘When you are out of prison go and look for The Herald Entertainment editor Tafadzwa Zimoyo, he will profile you and who knows what will happen next.”
Peterson explained that he was hesitant to meet the media.
“I was afraid of people because I was used to being alone. Then I visited The Herald and had my interview.
“Some family members accepted me but others are still finding it hard to,” he said.
Two days after participating in the StarBrite show, he received the news that he made it to the semi-finals.
“I could not believe it after hearing the news from the organisers,” he said.
Now Peterson is set for semi-finals and is anxious to perform at a bigger show.
“I am calling out to promoters to allow me to showcase my talent. I am an ex-convict and have repented.”
Online Reporter